FRC proposals on risk and reporting
by Gill Montia
Story link: FRC proposals on risk and reporting
Firms that have been burying the extent of their strategic and operational risks deep in company reports, or have missed them out altogether, have come to the attention of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC). The Council, which promotes investment by ensuring high-quality corporate governance and reporting, wants strategic risk to take its proper place in [...]
FSA proposals on product descriptions
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA proposals on product descriptions
A rise in demand for financial products for the risk adverse has led the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to review the market and draw up new rules on product descriptions. The regulator’s latest quarterly consultation paper proposes that firms using terms such as “guaranteed”, “protected” or “secure” should include in their promotional material explanations of [...]
Proposed reforms to solicitors’ PII “inadequate”
by Gill Montia
Story link: Proposed reforms to solicitors’ PII “inadequate”
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has described proposals from the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regarding solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) as “inadequate” and likely to worsen fears for the future of the market. According to the ABI, the SRA has failed to understand that the Assigned Risks Pool, which is used by solicitors unable [...]
FSA proposals on managing with-profits funds
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA proposals on managing with-profits funds
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published proposals aimed at strengthening its existing rules on with-profits funds. Last year, the regulator carried out a review of the way in which firms treat their with-profits policyholders and identified a number of concerns that have resulted in key proposals, as follows: strengthen the requirement for boards and [...]
Treasury consults on “simple” financial products
by Gill Montia
Story link: Treasury consults on “simple” financial products
The Treasury wants insurers, banks and other financial services providers to come up with a range of “simple” products that will help consumers become more responsible. In a consultation document published yesterday, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP, set out the proposals commenting: “The Government is committed to helping consumers take responsibility for [...]
FSA proposals on platform services
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA proposals on platform services
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published proposals aimed at ensuring that from January 2013, platform services are aligned with the standards required by the Retail Distribution Review (RDR). That is to say, the cost of advice will be decided by the client and adviser and no longer hidden from the customer in the cost [...]
CEA opposes FAT tax
by Gill Montia
Story link: CEA opposes FAT tax
The CEA (the European insurance and reinsurance federation) is calling for European Commission (EC) tax proposals to differentiate between insurers and the banks. The body believes that the proposed Financial Activities Tax (FAT), which would target the profits and remunerations of the financial sector, is not justified in the case of insurers. In addition, the [...]
FSA acts on complaints handling
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA acts on complaints handling
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is proposing to increase the limit on awards made by the Financial Ombudsman Service from £100,000 to £150,000. The initiative forms part of a package of measures intended to drive up standards in complaints handling across the financial services sector. The regulator says it wants more firms to resolve complaints [...]
IASB proposals demand “complete overhaul” of performance reporting
by Gill Montia
Story link: IASB proposals demand “complete overhaul” of performance reporting
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is alerting insurers to the need for a “complete overhaul” of their systems and performance reporting. The advice follows proposals from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) released today, which according to PwC “represent a fundamental change to the way insurers’ accounting will be conducted in the future”. However, the firm’s global insurance [...]
Government consults on annuity reforms
by Gill Montia
Story link: Government consults on annuity reforms
The Government has launched an eight-week consultation on proposals to remove the requirement to turn pension savings into an annuity by the age of 75. The requirement has existed since 1976, when the average life expectancy of a healthy 65 year-old male was 13 years, but with annuity rates having plummeted during the credit crisis [...]
FSA consults again on PPI reforms
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA consults again on PPI reforms
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published feedback on its plans to reform the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) market and at the same time announced a further consultation on a revised package of measures aimed at ensure customers are treated consistently and fairly, either when buying new PPI policies or making a complaint about an [...]
FSA wants customer complaints data in public domain
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA wants customer complaints data in public domain
Insurance companies and other UK financial institutions may be required to provide consumers with details of customer complaints. Under new proposals from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) consumers could be given access to data on the number of complaints received by firms, the main products and services generating the complaints, and outcomes. Firms receiving the [...]
Competition Commission outlines proposals for PPI
by Gill Montia
Story link: Competition Commission outlines proposals for PPI
The Competition Commission (CC) has set out proposals on the implementation of new measures aimed at increasing competition in the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) market. PPI, which is intended to cover repayments on unsecured loans if the borrower loses their job or becomes too ill to work, has been the subject of controversy for years [...]
FSA may treble fines
by Gill Montia
Story link: FSA may treble fines
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will be pulling no punches in future, having announced plans to treble fines for breaches in certain circumstances. The regulator has published proposals which aim to ensure penalties better reflect the scale of misdemeanours and that profits made in the process are clawed back. Under the proposed new regime fines [...]
Road safety initiative good news for car insurers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Road safety initiative good news for car insurers
Government plans to make UK roads the safest in the world and cut road deaths by one-third by 2020 could impact favourably on car insurance premiums. Road Safety Minister, Jim Fitzpatrick, yesterday outlined a range of proposals, which include a review of both speed limits and the driver training and testing process. An expert panel [...]
Nurses may need individual PI insurance
by Gill Montia
Story link: Nurses may need individual PI insurance
The Nursing Times has reported that new government proposals could mean that all nurses and midwives will need professional indemnity (PI) insurance in place before they can register to practise. The magazine is warning that nurses and midwives may therefore eventually have to pay for the own insurance, as is the case with their doctor [...]
BIBA speaks out on proposed FSA fees and levies
by Gill Montia
Story link: BIBA speaks out on proposed FSA fees and levies
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is not happy about the proposals contained in the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) consultation paper CP09/7, which contains regulatory fee and levy rate proposals for 2009/10. BIBA’s chief executive, Eric Galbraith, acknowledges that the FSA has an ever-growing workload and that the fees for 10,000 small firms have been [...]
Consumers not keen on shopping around for PPI
by Gill Montia
Story link: Consumers not keen on shopping around for PPI
Proposals by the Competition Commission to ban the sale of payment protection insurance (PPI) alongside the sale of a loan or credit card do not meet with widespread approval among consumers. PPI is intended to meet payments on personal loans should the borrower be unable to work through illness or lose their job and the [...]
Biba proposes flood prevention measures
by Gill Montia
Story link: Biba proposes flood prevention measures
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (Biba) is making fresh calls for strong co-operation between the insurance industry and Government, to protect households and businesses from flooding. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is setting up a £5 million fund that will be used to safeguard vulnerable homes and Biba is suggesting a [...]
PPF proposals on pension protection levy and risk
by Gill Montia
Story link: PPF proposals on pension protection levy and risk
The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has set out the principles upon which proposals for the long-term future of the pension protection levy will be based. In a speech made last week at the National Association of Pension Funds’ annual conference, Martin Clarke, the PPF’s Director of Financial Risk, explained that when the risk based levy [...]
